Issues in GIS
March 2, 2009Restricting Internet Mapping ImageryIssues in GISA California Assemblyman, Joel Anderson, is trying to find a committee home for his proposed bill to restrict the publication of imagery covering certain buildings on Internet mapping sites. His bill would call for the blurring of imagery covering what he calls “soft terrorism” targets: schools, hospitals, churches and all government buildings. His apparent inspiration is ... read more February 11, 2009The Future of GIS According to Roger TomlinsonIssues in GISThe February 2009 volume of GEOconnexion International has a short interview with Roger Tomlison that takes the reader back in time to review the overlay methodology that birthed the concept of GIS and then looks forward for Tomlinson’s take on developments in GIS over the next 10 years. Visit: Roger Tomlinson on GIS History and ... read more Online Mapping as Both a Tool and A WeaponIssues in GISSpiegel Online has a perspectives piece on the double-edged usefulness of online mapping. Looking at Google Map applications in particular, the article looks at how online mapping can vary from being useful visualizations of natural disasters (such as the recent Australian fires), to curious (mapping out of celebrity deaths) to dangerous (through the targeted geographic ... read more February 9, 2009Santa Clara Ordered to Release Parcel DataIssues in GISThe California Court of Appeals upheld the Santa Clara County Superior Court’s order to Santa Clara County to release public information requests of its parcel basemap. The County unsuccessfully tried to prevent dissemination of the GIS data under the Federal Homeland Security provision of “Protected Critical Infrastructure Information”. Read more: Court of Appeal Rejects Santa ... read more January 13, 2009Recovering the Economy with GISIssues in GISWith all the ideas and plans for fixing the current economic crisis in the United States, it’s not surprising that a proposal to invest in GIS as a method of recovery is being floated. Put forth by Jack Dangermond of ESRI and Anne Hale Miglarese of Booze Allen Hamilton, the four page document suggests that ... read more September 18, 2008Essays on Geography and GISIssues in GIS, PublicationsESRI has a “GIS Best Practices” series that was launched last year to document successful case studies in a variety of industries. The series continues to be added and contains essays on a variety of subject matters including public safety, conservation, and logistics. The latest release is a compilation of past ArcNews articles entitled “Essays ... read more August 14, 2008 Georgia OnlineFeatures, Issues in GISThe recent conflict in the country of Georgia has led to the question of “where’s Georgia?” on Google Maps. Some sources claimed that Google removed its data for Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia soon after the fighting began in South Ossetia. Currently there are only outlines of the countries with no roads, city locations or any ... read more MAPPS Members Prefer Senator McCainIssues in GISMAPPS, a United States non-profit group comprised of GIS commercial interests, posted the results of their recent poll which surveyed the political preference of their members. Polling restricted to the members of MAPPS showed a preference for Senator John McCain over Senator Barack Obama by 76% to 24. The polling was conducted during the MAPPS ... read more August 10, 2008How Maps Shape Information and NewsIssues in GIS, MapsLeslie Rule from the MediaShift Idea Lab (PBS.org) tackles the issue of “How Maps Shape Information and News”. Her post was triggered by a video created bty Alisa Miller on “Global News 2.0″ which looked at “How the news shapes the way we see the world, and why Americans seem to know less and less ... read more July 5, 2008Street View on the Move in the UKIssues in GISDespite the potential to be referred to the Information Commissioner, Google apparently has started gathering the street level imagery needed to launch Street View in the United Kingdom. According to the BBC, Privacy International, a British rights group, believes that Google’s technology breaks privacy laws in that country: “In our view they need a person’s ... read more |
